Author's Notes:

Aaaahhh I am procrastinating!

AWSW characters featured: Adine, Amelia, Lorem, Ipsum, ECK/Mod Naomi

Happy reading!

Roommates

"I don't have anything figured out. I'm a fully-grown man with roommates."

Schmidt, New Girl

Joshua found himself twiddling his thumbs in Tatsu Park a few hours early thanks to some political figure buying out the remaining stock. A happy Katsuharu wheeled his cart away, whistling to wherever he lived.

He pocketed his earnings for the day and meandered aimlessly. Eventually, he found himself at the local beach. Sensing nobody around, he found a secluded spot beneath a palm tree and took a seat. He leaned back and stared mindlessly at the sky. He watched the clouds roll. He listened to the waves as they fumbled over sand.

His tattered cloak barely wrapped around his naked body. The sand was comfortable on his skin; it was very fine, like the kind that filled an hourglass. Joshua reclined on the tree trunk and stared out.

He didn't feel anything.

He felt so numb.

Joshua kept his mind blank. For as long as he remained this way, he could imagine that he was back on his Earth, back in his home. Somewhere in the tropics, the sun warming up his russet skin.

He could pretend that the Dragon Realms never happened. That he'd been dreaming the entire time. That he was not in an alternate universe. He could pretend he was actually among other humans. Still homeless, but at least cloistered away from strangers and bathing in the coastal serenity.

Joshua didn't know how much time had passed like this. He no longer paid attention. He willfully ignored the pinging on his mental constellation. He shut out everything and became a listless statue. The human sank further into the sand, viridian eyes gazing outward.

For once, the world was silent, yet his own soul remained turbulent. He wallowed in inaction, wishing for calmness. Even when the faint sound of distant wingbeats entered his ears, he did nothing.

Joshua did not wake from his stupor until the wingbeats had grown louder—gotten closer. Angry snarling punctuated the silence between flaps. Startled, he reflexively gazed out through his sixth sense and realized a sphere of life was flying straight towards him. One he could recognize.

He turned his head and found a greyish blue dragon making a quick descent.

Naomi.

It was too late to ward her off with Corey's illusion or to replace his features with that of another dragon. Joshua scrambled to get to his feet, only to slip on the sand. She was getting closer. In his mental constellation, he could see her star swirling. It had shrunk to a tiny size and was constantly shifting between yellow and red.

She was breathing hellfire, but not to the extent she'd lost herself to madness. "Hey you!" She shouted. "I don't know what you are, but stay right there!"

Joshua scoffed. Stay put? Was she kidding? If he did nothing in the next ten seconds, she'd land on top of him and pin him under her flank.

The memory he'd just recently remembered still burned in his mind. He could still see his friend's lifeless eyes. It strengthened his resolve not to kill people here. This small town was paradise compared to the universe he'd just transferred from. It mustn't be tarnished.

He decided to disable her.

"Do you even know the mess you got me in‽ Forget the money. Just give me back my—

Joshua faced the dragoness and raised his hand. Her sphere became a brighter yellow and momentarily bulged. A sign of fright.

"Stand down! Stand down! I just want to talk—

Joshua's power was as responsive as ever, easily springing forth into existence by force of will. He raised his hand, summoning a translucent white screen between him and Naomi. A loud, high-pitch whine filled the air. Panicking, she flapped her wings in a desperate attempt to evade or even arrest her descent.

The police officer passed through the elemental screen. It rendered her helpless, cutting off her spiritual tether to sight and the use of her limbs. Joshua knew this because he'd long wrapped his ego boundaries around her and perceived the world through her senses as though it was an extension of his own.

The sudden blackout caused indescribable terror to spike. Her dive spiraled out of control. In seconds, the dragoness smashed into the sand and slid forward, stopping by his bare feet. Naomi thrashed desperately, crying. Every pathetic mewl she made confirmed what she said back at the cafe—that she was a pencil pusher. Someone with no field experience whatsoever.

Joshua easily placed his hand on her snout. Consistent with her aquatic nature, she was smooth and rubbery to the touch. Naomi froze at the contact and shuddered. "Please… don't kill me…"

Ancestors, he hadn't done anything yet. "Relax, Naomi, I won't." She twitched at the mention of her name. His tone was calming. "And sorry about taking your wallet. I really needed the money."

"Why? You're, h-human, aren't you?" Naomi had relaxed a little now that she knew he wasn't going to hurt her, even though she, a fully-grown dragon in this world, was at his mercy.

Joshua fished out the wallet he'd stolen from her. A bifold. It looked common enough. Moving hastily, the transmigrator removed her identity and banking cards and scuttled it under her paws. "Here. ID, credit cards, and all that. I wanted to return them when I heard you were flying through storm clouds without them, but Mother of Knowledge, I couldn't figure out the right time and place."

"H-how did you…" Naomi opened her eyes right as Joshua turned around and walked away. There was no way the police officer could pursue him. He'd calibrated the disabling effects of the elemental shield to last about fifteen minutes during the deliberation step. "W-wait! Don't go—

"Goodbye." He disconnected from her sphere of life and wished himself out of her perception. To the dragoness, it was as if the human vanished in an instant. She would most certainly join Adine on her annoying excursions going forward, but that didn't matter anymore now that he had a place to live.

Joshua walked away from the scene. He decided to go to Uncle Megun's and wait for Lorem and Ipsum there. It was always a pain in the rump to maintain perception masking, but the mental strain was nowhere near what it used to be when he was living in Warfang and he wasn't going to let that go to waste.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Joshua saw a busy cafe when he got there. Every star he could associate with both patrons and employees bustled with activity. Their states varied widely—relaxed and motionless, agitated and stressed, and exhausted but happy.

One in particular swirled coldly, sporting an even blue. Unfortunately for Joshua, he'd misread the proximity of every sphere of life in his mental constellation, as one of the stars flashed yellow the instant he swung the door open.

"Hey!" a runner yelled at his face. Female. Red and white body, with blue stripes and spiral horns. "Watch where you're going. You almost made me spill my coffee!"

"Sorry. Didn't see you there." She was clutching a takeout cup to her white scales. The liquid jiggled dangerously close to a pair of goggles on her neck. With eyes nearly as green as his, she glared right at him. Her life signature simmered to a maroon hue in what he interpreted as disdainful irritation.

"Yeah? That's not my problem. You can at least not be a total klutz and ruin my day." The runner shoved past him, deliberately barreling her shoulder into his. Her tail loomed heavily. Joshua was forced to step aside to avoid getting smacked in the face and potentially being startled out of his steady mental state.

Joshua shook his head as the biped left and made a beeline for the large, industrial park that was visible from the cafe. That reptile had a short fuse, it seemed, and getting into a useless argument was the last thing he wanted.

The human walked into Uncle Megun's. Adine greeted him with a wave of her hand, somehow not swatting the red dragoness next to her with her large, billowing wing. "Heyyy, Corey! Nice to see you. How was your encounter with one of the biggest bitches in town?"

Adine was happy to see him, or rather, the projection he'd been putting into her mind. "Good to see you too," Joshua replied. "Is that runner well-known for that over here?"

"Sure is. Anna has a famously wicked temperament. You don't want to cross her without a good reason." Adine beckoned him over to the table. Some waitress she was.

Her eyes sparkled buoyantly when he approached. "I hear you were helping old Katsuharu today! That's great. Sounds like you finally got a job!" Her tail flicked about in tandem with her cheer, the banana-shaped tail spike coming too close to his ankles a few times.

Joshua took note of this and stepped around her. "At least it didn't take long. He's stubborn in his ways, but he can be open-minded when you're patient with explaining things. But, yes. I have a job now." He was starting to feel the joy of having a source of income now that he was able to scuttle that bad memory aside.

"Next step is finding a place to live, right? I can point you in the right direction. I'm a delivery flyer. I know where the decent places are!" Adine offered him some more help. The wyvern seemed to be naturally helpful. A good heart. It almost reminded him of Serenya, which was kind of funny when Adine looked so much like Vara's abusive mother back in Warfang.

"Thanks, Adine, you're so kind," Joshua replied, intoning his gratitude. "But I already have a place. I'm meeting Lorem and Ipsum here. They're letting me move in with them."

"Ah! Them. I see." She put a claw to her chin and nodded to herself a few times. "Yeah… yeah! They've got a decent place. It's designed for a big girl like me, so three dragons should fit. It'll be cramped, but it beats sleeping out in the wild, right?"

"Right." Joshua glanced askance at the booth next to them. The red dragoness seated in it was Adine's friend. Her best friend, it seemed, considering how she'd almost always been present with her during those nightly human hunts. She was working furiously on a piece of paper, jotting down notes in barely legible English.

"Oh! That reminds me." Adine shuffled a bit past Joshua and tapped the dragoness by the shoulder. Her seating posture seemed awkward; how couldn't it, when it was a quadruped trying to sit in something clearly made for bipeds? "Corey, I'd like to introduce you to Amelia. She's one of my closest friends."

"And someone who's not a total human fanatic," Amelia added. She stood a little and reached out with her paw. Joshua clasped it in greeting. It still felt odd to him, shaking paws.

"Not yeeet~" Adine retorted, singsong. "I remember someone here saying she'll look into cosplaying later this year…"

Amelia's webbed ears twitched, and in response, she rounded on the waitress. "And I remember saying it was just an idea."

The both of them started chuckling to themselves. Joshua gawked at her. "I didn't peg you for another human nut." No wonder she got along with Adine.

"Just not as crazy as her and Remy," she said. "They're the real fanatics about it."

Joshua understood where she was coming from. It was like comparing someone who wrote fanfiction and drew fanart to someone who wore costumes and collected tons of toys of merchandise.

Adine laughed. "Still makes you part of the fandom! Anyway, I have to work for a bit. Corey, do you need anything?"

"I do. A glass of soda, please." Joshua fished out a few small bills, happy that he could finally buy them without arousing suspicion. When Adine took the money and started checking in on the other patrons, he sat opposite of Amelia, eyes on the door.

The other dragoness concentrated on her paper. He snuck glances at it. The lettering reflected on her white underside scutes, but it was still too far to read. Joshua was tempted to extend his ego boundaries further into Amelia beyond whatever was needed for perception masking—and see through her eyes—but if he did that, his eyes would glaze over and the trance-like state might end up drawing unwanted attention like it usually did in Warfang.

He chose instead to ask her about it.

"Adine thinks there's a human hiding somewhere just outside the city. I'm helping her figure out where to conduct our search tonight." Amelia talked about the places they had already searched or swept through, including areas where they had come dangerously close to Joshua.

She snorted when Joshua asked about their luck. "Fruitless. We've been at this for almost a week now. We'll probably call it quits after another expedition or two."

That was wonderful news. Because of that, Joshua was now regretting how he'd responded to Naomi. The search would be extended now that a fourth member of the party was imminent. He at least found consolation in the fact nobody other than the three "human hunters" would believe her.

"Why are you doing this anyway?" he asked. "Sounds like a waste of time to find someone who doesn't want to be found."

"Because we want to meet a human!" It wasn't Amelia who answered. Adine had returned and sat down beside Joshua. "Who wouldn't? They're, like, our long lost creators! We already have a basic description to run on thanks to the recent sightings so it's just a matter of time before we find it—him—her—them! We even got a scent. It's very distinctly undragon."

Amelia was frowning at Joshua. Her tail wiggled. It looked uncomfortable, judging by her seating posture. "It's unique enough that you can find it all around town if you're looking for it. Even here in this cafe! That says a lot on its own, Corey, so I wouldn't call it a waste of time. Plus, it was fun. Got to have an adventure with friends."

Adine smirked knowingly at Amelia. "Oh you're just there to be with Remy!" The other dragoness puffed her cheeks, scales turning redder with embarrassment, only for the former to preempt her response. "Don't deny it! I caught you two rubbing necks a few times. I wouldn't be surprised if you've done anything more than that."

"You'd have smelled it if we did—

"Aren't you guys afraid?" Joshua interrupted them. "It's not like I haven't heard the rumors too. What if the human retaliates? I really think he doesn't want to be bothered. You three are disturbingly loud as it is."

Amelia stared right at him. "How do you know that?" Her sphere of life contracted. It cooled into a light blue.

Suspicion.

Luckily he had long been prepared for this. "Didn't Adine tell you about me? I was homeless until recently."

Amelia drummed her claws on the table. "Until recently, you say. Hmmm…"

Adine bumped her arm on Joshua. "Hey, we've been there a week and nothing's happened. Even if they're dangerous enough to take down a police officer, there were times when we split up by ourselves and nothing happened! What you said sounds terrifying, but they don't seem as combative as you think they are."

"Or maybe you're just lucky that you haven't pissed it off—

"Lucky‽ If that's what you think, Corey, how about joining us tonight and—

Amelia warbled. Adine went quiet at the sound. "I don't think he'll be joining us, Adine. I bet he's actually friends with our elusive guest."

Adine gaped at him, letting out an astonished squawk. "REALLY‽"

Joshua did a double take. "What‽ NO!" He not so much spoke as he categorically denied it. "What ever made you think of that?"

Amelia grinned. She pointed out that he'd been sleeping in the forest more often than at Tatsu Park. Their search had been restricted to a few locations in the outskirts of town. The forest wasn't as densely populated as Tatsu Park. Neither was it devoid of cover like the rice fields closer to the human structure. He even knew how loud of a racket they were making, yet he didn't show up even once to yell at them or drive them away, and he kept going back there to sleep even after hearing about the rumors. On top of that, the timing of Corey's arrival almost seemed too true to be a coincidence, with the red-and-purple runner appearing a few days after gossip about the two-legged mammal emerged. "Given all that, it isn't farfetched to consider the possibility that you know them and you're just trying to stop us from bothering your friend."

Joshua got more flustered the longer Amelia spoke. His grip on their senses quaked; her deduction was almost spot on. It was only the nature of his concealment that prevented her from seeing him as the very human they were looking for, since magic did not exist on this Earth.

"Amelia, that's ridiculous! You're just clutching at straws here 'cause you're hitting too many dead ends. What's next? Are you going to say I'm human?" Joshua snapped. He put some emotion into his act, hoping his anger felt genuine enough to the extent she backed off.

It worked. She broke eye contact and glanced away. "Well… no…"

Adine booped his shoulder. "C'mon, just humor us a little!" She leaned in conspiratorially, talons clutching his arms. "Let's pretend the human is your friend," she whispered. "Can you please tell them to meet us?"

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll play your game. Hypothetically, I'm his friend. Now, why will I do that? I have no reason to introduce him to you."

"Well, we could help them blend in somehow. We know they're sneaking around. Their scent's all over the place!"

"He's already got one dragon helping him."

Adine giggled. "Yeah, but it's someone who's also new to town! Won't it be better to have a real local?"

"That depends on what he wants."

"And what's that?"

"And why would he tell me? The human mind is unfathomable! They created dragonkind, yeah?"

Amelia snickered. "Aren't you taking it a little too far now? Maybe you're right about them the first time."

"That they're a normal person?" Adine waved her paw in dismissal. "Screw that! Let's go with something interesting."

"Spoken like a true M&M player," quipped Amelia. Joshua stared questioningly at her. "Monarchs and Mercenaries," she added. "It's a tabletop RPG we like to play."

"Adine, don't you have to go back to work…?" Joshua asked Adine. It was bothering him how the waitress had been sitting here for a few minutes now.

"Not until someone calls me! It's a small town. It's not like the city here." Adine nudged him again, her paws shaking. "Now, c'mon. What does the human want? Are they on some kind of quest or what? There must be a reason why he had to rob a cop last week! I know you really don't know anything, but I'll accept an educated guess at this point!"

Adine was really getting into this, Joshua realized. She was like one of those roleplayers who loved taking things seriously. Helpless, Joshua gaped at her friend. "Amelia, please help me out!"

Amelia reached across the table with an awkward smile. "Haha, Adine, you're overwhelming—" She was about to say something when the door chimed.

All three looked. Joshua brightened—it was Lorem! Adine, on the other hand, frowned, knowing her little game was over.

Joshua frantically waved at the blue dragon half his height, who trotted over as quickly as he could on his hindlegs as soon as he noticed. "Lorem, save me!"

Lorem laughed. "What are you guys doing?"

Adine answered faster than Joshua did. "Interrogating Corey about his human friend in the woods."

"Interrogating‽" Joshua cried. This time he jabbed her wing. "Egeria's wings, don't pull his tail like that!"

Adine returned a perplexed gaze. "What are you talking about‽ Why would I even pull on someone's tail?"

Joshua wanted to facepalm. Damn his reflexes. He kept forgetting to consciously revert back to Earth lingo.

Not knowing he could clearly hear them, Lorem leaned over to Amelia and muttered, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," she replied. "We're just messing around with Corey."

Adine turned towards Lorem. "Turns out he's been sleeping in the forest we've been doing human hunts in. We're just exploring some hypothetical, 'what if' scenarios here."

Joshua crossed his arms. "Right. At my expense."

Adine stuck her tongue out. "Guilty as charged. We're just having fun with you, Corey."

It showed in her sphere of life as well. The wyvern was cheerful the entire time, her star a swirling light blue. He spread his sixth sense out and noticed that none of the stars in his mental constellation matched his new roommate, and he had a pretty decent range. "Lorem," he asked. "Where's Ipsum? Is he coming?"

The diminutive dragon answered that his roommate was busy at work today. He couldn't get off early, unlike him with his courier job. Only when he mentioned that did Joshua notice he was wearing a cap and slingbag—his uniform, so to speak. After confirming that he was off for the rest of the day, Lorem finally rescued Joshua from the two human fanatics and their questions.

Adine was sad to see him leave, but promised to continue the conversation some other time. Amelia, on the other paw, said she'd invite Joshua over with her, Remy, and Adine sometime to play M&M with them.

He acknowledged the two dragons and bade them farewell, trotting after Lorem through the door. The other dragon hovered in the air as he led Joshua to his apartment.

Joshua was thankful Lorem didn't lead him through places he hadn't already been to in his exploration of the town. They didn't pass any security cameras along the way and approached the average-looking residential areas between the production facility and the city center. He felt nervous, passing opposite the police station; he had to deliberately ask Lorem to cross the street to avoid the digital eyes guarding the building. He could also feel Naomi's soul in there, and the last thing he wanted was to draw her attention after what happened earlier at the beach. (Why did she go there anyway? Was she on a late lunch break or something?)

Overall the walk was uneventful and they arrived at the apartment in a few minutes. It was during this time that Lorem asked Joshua about his conversation with Adine and Amelia.

"They thought it'd be a good idea for my thoughts about the human they're chasing just because I was sleeping in the same area!" Joshua griped. He complained about the two dragonesses and their quickness to jumping to unreasonable conclusions. "I know there's something going on but I don't want to get involved at all! I have other things to worry about."

Lorem smiled wryly. "Adine did say you were just exploring hypothetical situations."

"Sure didn't feel that way to me. It felt like she was really getting into it."

Lorem's smile seemed to deepen, as though he could empathize. "I RP'd with her group before. She loves acting out—lines, gestures, and all—and that's part of the fun."

"She came across to me as obsessed with humanity."

"Just like most of the townsfolk. We're more passionate about humans here than in any other city because of the artifact they left behind." Lorem pointed at the futuristic structure on the hill. It was especially visible in this part of town.

"...Does that apply to you too?"

Lorem chuckled. "To some extent, but you won't see me wearing costumes. I prefer digital art and collectibles. Don't worry, Corey. Ipsum and I won't make you feel uncomfortable."

The apartment complex was fairly easy to get into, with no guards or other security measures. It reminded Joshua of some apartment buildings he'd seen in the United States, long, long ago. The man followed the small dragon further inside, until they got to a building that had an open hallway in its very center. It had stairs in the middle, enabling access to the next two floors. Doors lined both sides, each leading to a unit.

Lorem led his new roommate upstairs to the second floor. He stopped in front of a door with the number "1202" nailed onto its surface. Touching down on the floor, he fiddled with his slingbag until he found the keys. "Here we are. Welcome to your new apartment!"

Joshua Renalia had never gotten the opportunity to move out on his own back on his Earth. He'd still been in high school when he was yanked away from his bed and transported to the Dragon Realms in nothing but his sleeping clothes. He knew now that it wasn't some grand, cosmic phenomenon flinging humans to another universe. Looking back at what he'd experienced since then—meeting his sister, meeting his video game heroes, overcoming discrimination, making new friends, carving out a decent life for himself, only to be drawn into geopolitical power grabs—Joshua would much rather live in blissful ignorance on Earth as an insignificant insect than be the Second Transcendent.

Thus, with no knowledge of how modern adult life worked, Joshua walked into his new apartment with zero expectations.

It was a one-bedroom unit—Lorem said it was small, but only for the standards of so-called "earth dragons" who were larger, bulkier, and heavier than most. For dragons like Lorem and Ipsum, and an adult human like Joshua, it was more than enough to fit the three of them…

If they had the room space.

And fortunately, they did.

The door opened up to a living room. A coffee table and a couch welcomed his entrance. An open laptop sat conspicuously on top of the table, next to an empty but unwashed coffee mug. Papers scribbled with annotated print were haphazardly scattered on top.

To the left was a tall counter. It stood higher than Lorem, though short enough for both Ipsum and Joshua. Behind it was the kitchen proper, with a sink, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven. Beside it, a granite dining table with four chairs—a set. On the other side of the kitchen was an alcove containing a washer and dryer—which was rarely used as both Lorem and Ipsum saw very little need for clothing.

To the right, beside the sofa and coffee table was a door. Lorem walked up to it. "This is where you'll be sleeping." Inside was an empty, windowless room large enough for a single quadruped. Surprisingly, it was secured with a keyless lock and the two roommates had gone so far as to place a mattress, a pillow, a blanket, and a towel inside. "We considered your, err, situation and furnished the space a little. It's the least we can do."

"Very thoughtful of you. Many thanks, Lorem." The response brought a smile to the courier's snout. Seeing it made Joshua happy for some reason. Somehow, Lorem reminded him of his adopted sister, Kilat, before puberty gave her growth spurts.

"I'll show you around some more," Lorem said and led Joshua across the carpet. Beside the dining table were another three doors. One was the shared bathroom. The other was a bedroom that had two walk-in closets much like Joshua's and a divider to separate their individual areas. ("Ipsum's my best friend, but we need to have our own space.")

The last door connected to the living room had a distinct, professional-looking poster on it, warning of potential hazards. "Ipsum's a biologist at the production facility. Sometimes he brings work home. Sometimes he's got his own personal project—usually related to humankind and the structure they left behind. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Not really. I understand why everyone's all gung ho about humans in this town." Joshua lied. It bothered him a little, actually. Lorem had creative pursuits concerning his species while Ipsum pursued a more intellectual approach. He could only pray to Azeroth the Infinite that the two friends would be understanding if—no, when they inevitably discover the truth about him. He'd hate to be out on the streets again. "Why isn't he here anyway? Isn't the workday finished by now?"

The question had the dragon laughing. "He's got Anna bossing him around."

"Anna… I nearly bumped into her when I arrived at Uncle Megun's." He frowned, recalling her snide comments. "She's got a spicy attitude."

"That's a major understatement. Way I understand it, she's quite the bitch. Ipsum sometimes pulls pranks at work to vent a little. It hasn't gotten him in trouble… yet."

"I hope he doesn't take it too far."

Lorem scratched the underside of his jaw. "Me too." Then, he grinned. "So, what do you think?"

"Of the apartment?"

"Yeah! It might feel a little small with the three of us living together, but I'm optimistic it'll grow on you very quickly." Lorem put both hands on his waist as if he was a young human. He was practically crooning.

"Honestly?" Joshua lunged for the tiny dragon and hugged him, causing his sphere of life to fluctuate in astonishment. "Thank you. Thank you so much!" Though Corey's image and the sensations of his gesture were being coursed through the courier's soul, the human's gratitude was very real. In a way, Joshua finally got what he'd been pining for decades—a return to modern civilization—to the life he was missing terribly ever since he was brought to the Dragon Realms in his adolescence. "You have absolutely no idea what this means to me, Lorem. Thanks for giving me a chance."

Lorem squirmed. The little dragon blushed at his words, probably embarrassed that a few simple gestures of kindness—and that willingness to put trust in a complete stranger—got a massive reaction out of him. "Aww, Corey… that was nothing. I, I can't say I can empathize with you, but I'm glad you're happy about it.

"Would you mind helping me fix up dinner while we wait for Ipsum? We can talk a little more about that video game I'm planning, now that we're officially roommates!" Lorem trotted towards the kitchen in brighter spirits. It showed in the glowing color of his life signature and his expectant gaze.

"Sure," he replied.

The two of them got to work. Joshua quickly learned where the seasonings were stored, what kind of vegetables and fruits they used, and what meat they ate. Many ingredients looked similar to what he'd handled as a young boy doing household chores, though some appeared slightly—just slightly—different from how he remembered them.

Lorem ultimately decided on a fairly neutral dish made of something that reminded Joshua of beef, judging by the texture of the meat. His addition of what looked like carrots and broccoli was also surprising; it turned out that the dragons on this Earth were omnivores, unlike in the Dragon Realms where they subsisted on a carnivorous diet. His small roommate fluttered about the tiny kitchen, barely giving Joshua any chores of his own (beyond cutting the vegetables and slicing up the meat) while standing on a footstool managing a wok.

In the process, Lorem started a conversation about his video game. Rather than dwelling on humankind, they brainstormed the basic mechanics and tossed ideas around back and forth. What kind of story should it tell? Should there even be a story? Should it be third person, or first person? What about the setting—medieval, modern, or futuristic? And the genre, what should it be?

It felt good to discuss such topics with the small dragon. At the beginning, he needed a slight refresher on gaming terminology, acronyms, and other modern jargon that also existed on his Earth, due to the fact he hadn't talked like this for decades.

When it came to the general premise, Joshua was fine with most of Lorem's ideas. A game based on humans—on a mythical creature would be perfect for practically any story they could think of. He believed something that gave the player plenty of development choices would be excellent, though it would be computationally heavy with all the nested IF-THEN functions running in the background.

Character creation was a must in these kinds of games. Graphics technology was still fairly limited though, so they'd have to make do with a number of preset options on a few variables. One of them was species, and while many players preferred to stick to their own species, more would want to play as a human. The reasons for playing as a human were synonymous with the reasons why people back on Earth would play as orcs, elves, or dragonborns—curiosity, escapism, or fantasy.

Lorem got into character biographies shortly after. When Joshua pointed out how many of them sounded like templates, the courier sheepishly admitted to drawing inspiration directly from the tabletop game Monarchs & Mercenaries. The human was starting to become curious of the tabletop RPG; the more he heard about it, the more it sounded like Dungeons & Dragons—a game that he'd never gotten to play before his transmigration to the Realms, simply because he could never find a group of players to play with.

"I didn't have too many friends back then," Joshua was elaborating. "And we were all into different sorts of things. Tabletop RPGs like Dun—like Monarchs & Mercenaries never appealed to us, even if we did hear about it from time to time." He chuckled. "Now it sounds like we had missed out a lot."

"It's never too late!" Lorem said, a smile on his muzzle. "Amelia invited you to play with her and her friends, didn't she? We can have your Session Zero when you go over to her place."

Joshua winced. "I don't know… I don't really know them that well, and honestly, they seem to have this, this unhealthy obsession with humans…"

The diminutive dragon giggled. "Are you nervous?"

Nervous of them discovering his true identity as the only human being in the entire world, but he wouldn't dare say that to someone he was lying to at this very moment. "I am. You can tag along, can you?"

"Sure. I don't think Amelia or Adine will mind; I've known them for a while." His tail lashed towards Joshua, gently, akin to a friendly whip. "They're nice people, Corey. They won't bite."

"I know, I know. I'm… I'm just not comfortable around them, okay?"

"But you're fine with me and Ipsum?"

"I know what you're getting at, Lorem, but I just like the two of you better!" Joshua's exclamation caused Lorem's smile to deepen. The dragon returned his attention to his cooking; he was clearly in a better mood, as he'd started humming a pleasant tune.

Ipsum arrived just minutes after Lorem spread dinner around the table. He was garbed in a laboratory coat and carrying a briefcase. Ipsum greeted Joshua warmly and was glad to see the roommates getting along. While eating dinner, the biologist mentioned seeing Adine, Amelia, and Naomi flying together. "They looked really determined. Something must've happened."

"Possibly. Maybe the human attacked them?" Lorem suggested. Joshua couldn't help watching him and Ipsum eat with forks and knives. A bizarrely familiar sight, if nostalgic. "Corey, what do you think?"

Only then did Joshua realize that Lorem was looking at him, having noticed his gaze. "It's still too early to conclude whether it really was a human or you and Naomi were just hallucinating. What we can assume is that something happened to that cop again; otherwise she wouldn't have joined Adine tonight."

Lorem's gaze softened. He chuckled awkwardly, scratching his own cheek. "You're right. We can't make that conclusion yet… but it would be nice if it was a human, don't you think? It'll put many questions to rest!"

Ipsum nodded. "Right. Some people at work—myself included—got together and compiled a list of every serious biological question we need to confirm if we ever get in touch with humans someday."

Well, that was interesting. "Questions like what?"

Ipsum started listing them down as he spoke from memory. "If they have scales like us, what abilities they have, what feral species they descended from, whether they're omnivores too…"

Joshua's eyes glazed over the moment Ipsum spent half a minute talking. They had LOTS of questions! He was all but sweating at the notion of being poked and prodded all over by dragon scientists. If this society ever came into contact with his kind someday, he wished the first guy to meet dragons good luck. It sounded like a very annoying, if troublesome, affair.

"I think you broke him, Ipsum!" Lorem was laughing. "See? I told you. Everyone here likes humans in one way or another." He sighed wistfully. "Yeah, it'd be really nice if those three find something… Hey, Corey, weren't you sleeping out there in the forest? Was there anything strange at all? Weren't you scared?"

"Not really," Joshua replied. "There's nothing out there but wild animals. Sure, I heard the rumors too, but I found Adine and her group more bothersome than the creature they're looking for."

"How brave of you," Ipsum remarked as he took a sip of his drink. "Lorem and I caught a glimpse of it last week before it just, disappeared into thin air. One second it was there, and the next—

"Woosh! Gone!" Lorem voiced, spreading his forearms apart. "We thought we were seeing things. I didn't take it more seriously until it actually took down a cop!" He clasped his arms and tucked in his wings, shuddering. "That it could've done something else that night… still freaks me out. I wouldn't dare sleep in that forest Adine says it's lurking in!"

"And that is why I just kept to myself and minded my own business," Joshua replied. "As you can see, I'm perfectly unharmed." He took another bite from his meal and chuckled. "I don't even have to worry about it now that I'm living here."

Ipsum nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. I guess that's why the creature left you alone the entire time you were there.

Lorem chimed in, spittle flying out of his snout. "Well! Human or not, it can't touch you now that you're indoors with us." He glanced outside the window, staring at the starry sky beyond. "I just hope they don't get hurt out there. We don't know what it's capable of."

Joshua resisted the urge to reply with something witty. He didn't want to give either Lorem or Ipsum any hints of his connection to the creature—whether it was the fact he was the so-called "monster" itself or the strong case for "Corey" being friends with it. They honestly looked spooked. Terrified, even. He wouldn't dare drop his perception masking around the two dragons, not for a long while.

He ultimately kept quiet and continued to eat his share of dinner, worry-free. There was no way the group of "hunters" would find him now that he had a home to stay and dwell in. All their searching would ultimately prove useless and drive them to quit. While Naomi was the only dragon who had encountered Joshua in the flesh, he was certain that, in time, she would also drop the matter altogether and move on with her life. Once that happened, his assimilation in this new yet familiar world would truly be complete.

Joshua looked forward to the days to come. Now that he had a place to stay, the next thing he had to do was earn money and start enjoying life. The life that he should've lived as an ordinary human adult.

A normal life.

The life he had always wanted—playing video games, watching movies, keeping up with technology, nerding out with friends…

For the moment, he was happy.

Happy enough that he could, at this time, ignore the call of the Dragon Realms.

For he was, in a way, finally home.